Match Report 2001-2002

Tuesday 26 February, 2002, Division One

Nottingham Forest At Valley Parade

Three minutes and 31 games

The word before the game was Danny Cadamarteri. He was quieter than Saturday, but had a decent game. A fast striker his skills are going to be most valuable for City when teams are not defending as deep as Nottingham Forest did. By the end of the game Ward was the word.

Ashley Ward of course, City's striker looks set to join Barnsley on a free transfer this week making this his final game for the Bantams. His strike rate for this season of 11 goals in 22 seems impressive, but one remembers that the aim of City in the mid term is to build a Premiership team and Ward, aged 30 plus now, took 31 games to score his first goal in the division last season.

Darren Ward, for it was the Forest keeper who had kept goal for Notts County the 1996 play off final against City, who had been unable to palm a powerful Eoin Jess drive away from goal, the ball squirming through his raised hands and wriggling into the goal.

This came after a quarter of excellent City play. Cadamarteri pushed the back line back as he did at Gillingham and the midfield looked bright for the extra space it enjoyed. Gareth Whalley swung in a cross from the left to find and unmarked Andy Tod who powered as hard a header as one could see past Darren Ward. It shook the post as it came back.

Forest for there part could muster little. Midfielder Gray went close once but that aside they seemed to operate a policy of shooting when within 35 yards of goal, Marlon Harewood often getting it that much high and/or wide. City were comfortable.

12 seconds into the second half and of course Forest were level. Harewood hitting the target from some 25 yards straight from a move into the Bantam half at the kick off. You can guarantee that Nicky Law told the City side to do anything but concede an early goal. This was why.

Forest had a number of chances well saved by the increasingly impressive Alan Combe. Combe organises his back line and is athletic. He is certainly worth considering longer term.

To the credit of Nicky Law he took the game by the neck, throwing on Lee Sharpe with an attacking remit. Sharpe ghosted by a few Forest right backs and began to spark Ward who twisted and turned, looking like a man trying not to look like a man not trying. Sure enough after Ward had fed Cadamarteri and Cadamarteri had returned a throw to Sharpe, Sharpe crossed superbly to a momentarily and improbably high jumping Jamie Lawrence to give City a decisive lead on 88 minutes.

Ashley Ward tried to sign of with a bang, but saw his shot blocked as he signed off a career at City that could earn him a shade over £2m for 18 months work. It was unrealistic to expect Ash to do in the three minutes added time what it took him 31 games to do, score.

There was no standing ovation for Ashley Ward.

The future without Ward, and not really because of the striker leaving although his drain on the wage bill will not be missed, looks rosier in the newly revamped word of Nicky Law. City have a forth league win in eight since Law took charge and defensively things seem to be getting tighter. Andy Myers impressively kept the Forest forwards quiet. Midfield we have options, up front we are told that a replacement will be brought in for Ashley ward by the weekend. Given Law's record so far, I for one am liable to turst the managers call on this.

Man of the Match

Andy Myers

City Team:

Combe
Grayson Tod Myers Jacobs
Lawrence McCall Jess Whalley
Ward Cadamarteri

Subs: Lee Sharpe for Whalley, Gary Locke for Jess.